Scientists are reporting the development and successful initial testing of a new form of methotrexate — the mainstay anticancer drug — designed to be given as nose drops rather than injected. It shows promise as a more effective treatment for brain cancer, they say. The report appears in ACS' Molecular Pharmaceutics, a bi-monthly journal. Tomotaka Shingaki and colleagues note that brain cancer is difficult to treat, partly because current anticancer drugs have difficulty reaching the brain. That's because the so-called blood-brain barrier (a protective layer of cells ...

We've all heard the saying about people who can't walk and chew gum at the same time, but it turns out that walking and talking is difficult enough, especially for people with Parkinson's disease who are at increased risk for falls with injury. A new Florida State University study found that older adults with Parkinson's disease altered their gait — stride length, step velocity and the time they spent stabilizing on two feet — when asked to perform increasingly difficult verbal tasks while walking. But the real surprise was that even older adults without a neurological ...

The antibacterial ingredient in some soaps, toothpastes, odor-fighting socks, and even computer keyboards is pointing scientists toward a long-sought new treatment for a parasitic disease that affects almost two billion people. Their report on how triclosan became the guiding light for future development of drugs for toxoplasmosis appears in ACS' monthly Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. In the study, Rima McLeod and colleagues point out that toxoplasmosis is one of the world's most common parasitic infections, affecting about one-third of the world population, including ...

Researchers from the Cardiac & Vascular Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center will present at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) 2010 scientific symposium on September 21-25, 2010 in Washington, DC. They will be available for interviews during the conference. Louis Miller, MD Interventional Cardiology Fellow, Department of Medicine, Leon H. Charney Division of Cardiology at NYU Langone Medical Center Wednesday, September 22, 2010 Presenter •Very Long-term Clinical Follow-up After Fractional Flow Reserve-Guided Coronary Revascularization, ...

An unusual substance known as "dry water," which resembles powdered sugar, could provide a new way to absorb and store carbon dioxide, the major greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming, scientists reported at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society. The powder shows bright promise for a number of other uses, they said. It may, for instance, be a greener, more energy-efficient way of jump-starting the chemical reactions used to make hundreds of consumer products. Dry water also could provide a safer way to store and transport potentially harmful ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Although obesity is a major risk factor for disease, much of the threat may be associated with the metabolic (or cardiometabolic) syndrome, a cluster of risk factors related to diabetes and heart disease. Losing weight can improve health and reduce many of these risk factors. However, many people struggle to keep the weight off long-term. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found that people who perform resistance training while regaining weight can help maintain strides in reducing their risks for chronic disease. "Long-term weight loss ...

Imagine devices that capture electricity from the air — much like solar cells capture sunlight — and using them to light a house or recharge an electric car. Imagine using similar panels on the rooftops of buildings to prevent lightning before it forms. Strange as it may sound, scientists already are in the early stages of developing such devices, according to a report at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society. "Our research could pave the way for turning electricity from the atmosphere into an alternative energy source for the future," said study ...

Portable devices that use a laser beam to probe bones, teeth, and other parts of the body for early signs of diseases like osteoporosis and tooth decay may seem like something out of science fiction. But those devices are moving closer to reality, according to an article in the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), ACS' weekly newsmagazine. C&EN Senior Editor Celia Henry Arnaud notes that these new diagnostic tools will have the ability to see beneath the skin and detect disease, without exposing patients to X-rays. They embrace a technology that involves ...

Toronto, Canada – In an international study of patients with a devastating type of dementia that often strikes in middle age, researchers have found intriguing evidence that career choice may influence where the disease takes root in the brain. The study was led by Baycrest's Rotman Research Institute in collaboration with the Memory and Aging Centre at the University of California, San Francisco and several U.S. and European clinical sites. It appears online today in the Article in Press section of the journal Neuropsychologia, ahead of publication. Researchers ...

A study led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators links the muscle weakness and other symptoms of a rare neurodegenerative disease to a misstep in functioning of a normal protein, rather than its build-up inside cells. The finding offers insight into the mechanism driving common nervous system disorders like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. The work advances understanding of how the inherited mistake at the heart of spinobulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) leads to the death of neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Investigators showed that the underlying ...

September 22, 2010 -- Most studies of the food choices available near public schools have focused on fast food outlets rather than the full range of options available to schoolchildren. A new study by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health examined the patterns of exposure to a broad range of food outlets for school children in New York City. The study, "Disparities in the Food Environments of New York City Public Schools," is published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine Volume 39, Issue 3, and cited as the "Editor's Choice" ...

Bethesda, Md. (September 22, 2010) – Taking chromium picolinate may help lessen inflammation associated with diabetic nephropathy (kidney disease), say researchers at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. In a study comparing diabetic mice treated with chromium picolinate with those that received placebo, the researchers found that mice who received the supplement had lower levels of albuminuria (protein in the urine), an indication of kidney disease. The Study To arrive at their conclusions, the researchers compared three groups of mice, one lean, healthy group ...

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– Sometimes, treasures can be found in your own backyard –– especially if you know what to look for. This is what happened to Jeff Goddard, project scientist with the Marine Science Institute at UC Santa Barbara. Goddard was working in the tide pools at Carpinteria Reef, in Carpinteria State Park, Calif., when he found a new species of nudibranch –– a group of sea slugs noted for their bright colors and delicate forms. Recognizing it as new, Goddard carefully documented the living specimen before preserving it and sending it off to Terrence M. ...

By following the "nose" of fruit flies, Yale scientists are on the trail of new insect repellents that may reduce the spread of infectious disease and damage to agricultural crops. That's because they've learned for the first time how a group of genes used to differentiate smells is turned on and off, opening new possibilities for insect control. Just as in new drug development, researchers can target these or similar genes in other insects to create substances that make crops and people "invisible" to insect antennae. Without the ability to smell correctly, the insects ...

The GOES-13 satellite may be stationed in orbit over the eastern U.S., but it has a wide field of view from the eastern Atlantic to the eastern Pacific, and today it captured three tropical cyclones in one image. At 1445 UTC (10:45 a.m. EDT) today, Sept. 22, the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite called GOES-13 captured Tropical Storm Lisa in the far eastern Atlantic, a developing tropical low in the south-central Caribbean Sea, and Tropical Storm Georgette in the eastern Pacific Ocean, making landfall in Baja California. The GOES series of satellites ...

Hurricane Igor may have transitioned into a post-tropical hurricane late yesterday, but when he approached Newfoundland, Canada and merged with an area of low pressure it resulted in heavy rainfall throughout the region. NASA satellites captured Igor's northern march toward the Labrador Sea yesterday. NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites captured visible and infrared images of Hurricane Igor yesterday as he brought heavy rainfall into northeastern Canada. A visible image of Hurricane Igor over Newfoundland, Canada was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ...

TORONTO, ON – Aviation history was made when the University of Toronto's human-powered aircraft with flapping wings became the first of its kind to fly continuously. The "Snowbird" performed its record-breaking flight on August 2 at the Great Lakes Gliding Club in Tottenham, Ont., witnessed by the vice-president (Canada) of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), the world-governing body for air sports and aeronautical world records. The official record claim was filed this month, and the FAI is expected to confirm the ornithopter's world record at its meeting ...

Better treatments and prevention for typhoid fever may emerge from a laboratory model that has just been developed for the disease. The model is based on transplanting human immune stem cells from umbilical cord blood into mice that are susceptible to infections. The transplanted cells live alongside the mouse's own immune system. Although mice are normally resistant to the dangerous strain of Salmonella that causes typhoid fever, the bacteria are able to reproduce in the mice that have received transplanted human cells. Because typhoid fever affects only humans, ...

Los Angeles, CA (September 22, 2010) Adopting the evidence-based procedures of School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) helped 21 elementary schools reduce student suspensions, office discipline referrals and improve student academic achievement, according to a study published in the July 2010 issue of the Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions. SWPBIS is a rapidly expanding approach to improving educational environments that is estimated to be used in more than 9,000 schools nation-wide Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for the Prevention ...

Adjustments, applications and other tools allow users to configure preferences and use services such as iGoogle and Yahoo to control and customize the news they consume online. These tools can make online experiences more efficient and productive, but they do not ensure that users will be consistently pleased with their selections, according to Penn State researchers. "There is a major push toward customization in the marketplace because designers assume that more customization is better, but our research shows that only some users prefer customization," said S. Shyam ...

People who leave strict religious groups are more likely to say their health is worse than members who remain in the group, according to a Penn State researcher. The percentage of people who left a strict religious group and reported they were in excellent health was about half that of people who stayed in the group, said Christopher Scheitle, senior research assistant, in sociology. "Previous research showed some association between belonging to a religious group and positive health outcomes," Scheitle said. "We became interested in what would happen to your health ...

September 21, 2010 – Chicago – The prevalence of periodontal disease in the United States may be significantly higher than originally estimated. Research published in the Journal of Dental Research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) suggests that the prevalence of periodontal disease may have been underestimated by as much as 50 percent. The implication is that more American adults may suffer from moderate to severe gum disease than previously thought. In a National Health and Nutrition Examination ...

Doctors frequently misuse antibiotics when treating patients hospitalized with respiratory tract infections (RTIs), according to a study to be published in the November issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. The study, which tracked patients in two Pennsylvania hospitals, found that doctors often use antibiotics to treat patients whose infections are known to be caused by viruses. The findings are alarming because antibiotics are not effective against viruses, and antibiotic overuse has been linked to the development of resistant bacterial strains. "[T]hese ...

BATON ROUGE, LA—The ancient fig tree, first imported to the United States during the 16th century, thrives in areas of California and the South Atlantic and Gulf Coast areas of the U.S. One of the most popular trees grown in Southern backyards, fig is favored for its versatile fruit and low-maintenance production. Charles E. Johnson, Ed O'Rourke, and James E. Boudreaux, from the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center in Baton Rouge, introduced a new fig they named "Champagne" in a recent issue of HortScience. According to the report, the new fig performed well ...

Ever wonder why it's such an effort to forget about work while on vacation or to silence that annoying song that's playing over and over in your head? Mathematicians at Case Western Reserve University may have part of the answer. They've found that just as thinking burns energy, stopping a thought burns energy - like stopping a truck on a downhill slope. "Maybe this explains why it is so tiring to relax and think about nothing," said Daniela Calvetti, professor of mathematics, and one of the authors of a new brain study. Their work is published in an advanced online ...